Is it bad to take AP classes without taking the exam at the end of the year? I feel like it would save me a bit of money and time during my high school years, and I heard that not all of my AP credits would be used. What do you guys think? Will colleges find it bad?
I believe you have to self report any past/future AP/SAT/ACT exams. However, it won’t do much for your app. Colleges won’t find it bad or exceptionally good either.
My guidance counselor worked in an admission office for a large university. She said that it makes them curious about your grade in your class. For example, if you had a A in the class, why didn’t you just take the test. She said some people thought that meant it was evidence the class was very easy and you took it as an easy grade booster. Especially, if you did that with a lot of them. Other than that, she said it had a very small bearing on admissions.
The guidance counselors at my high school have said that taking an AP class without taking the AP exam looks suspicious to college admissions. (“If you’re able to do well in the class, then why wouldn’t you be capable of taking the exam?”) Because of this, they strongly suggested that students take the AP exam. My AP teachers offered incentives if students took the AP exams (easier finals, which led everyone to sign up to take them). While it may look a little suspicious if you don’t take the AP exams, you’re not even required to send your scores (if you do take the exams). Overall, it’s not a big deal whether you end up taking the AP exams in terms of admissions.
Take others advice above on ones you know you will not use, but you should check to see which ones you will use in college if you are looking to save money. If you can get credit for them, you can save a good bit by not having to take (and pay for) introductory classes. The exam is around $90 which is a lot cheaper than college class I know of.
I agree with Madeline25. For me personally, the whole point of taking the AP class in the first place is to take the exam, do well, and get college credit for cheaper.
Taking AP classes anyway, though, could boost up your weighted GPA, and therefore weighted class rank. I don’t know how much colleges actually look at that though.
Look at some of the colleges you are thinking about attending. Don’t go by what you “hear”…go by reality.
Look up what AP scores give you credits. Yes, $95 for a test seems like a lot, but if you can take enough to save a semester of college think about how more you/your family can save. Don’t be short sighted.
Also the AP Test, even if you don’t do that great, gives you an idea of how college is…my daughter got A’s in AP Calc class, but got a 1 on the test. That tells her that she is going to have to step up her game for college. But she got a 4
on AP Psych which she is going to major in.
I agree with everything mentioned above. Also, unless you are a senior, you have no way of knowing what subjects will be accepted, since you will have no acceptances at that point.
As a senior, however, unless your school requires you to take the test, if your college will not accept it, I see no reason to take the test. In that case though, you might still want to let your college know that you are not taking the test, although I doubt that they will care.
I’d rather pay $80 to take a test than pay $1000 for a class.